Bodyweight and carcass characteristics of Somali goats fed hay supplemented with graded levels of peanut cake and wheat bran mixture.

The experiment was conducted for ninety days of feeding trial at Haramaya University, Ethiopia using twenty four yearling male Somali goats weighing 20.4 +/- 2.02 (mean +/- SD) with the objectives to evaluate the effect of supplementation of peanut cake and wheat bran mixture (3:1) on body weight (BW) gain and carcass characteristics of Somali goats. The experiment was arranged with six blocks and four treatments in a randomized complete block design. The treatments were ad libitum feeding of hay (T1, control) and supplementation with 200 g (T2), 300 g (T3) and 400 g (T4) peanut cake and wheat bran mixture on dry matter (DM) basis. Supplementation reduced (P < 0.001) hay DM intake, but increased (P < 0.001) total DM intake at 300 g DM (T3) and 400 g DM (T4) level of supplementation compared to the control treatment. Daily BW gain, final BW, empty BW, hot carcass weight and dressing percent were higher (P < 0.001) in the supplemented treatments. Goats on the medium (T3) level of supplementation had significantly heavier (P < 0.001) liver and more muscle deposition, whereas those on hay alone (T1) exhibited heavier bone, head as well as gut contents (P < 0.05). It was concluded that supplementation of Somali goats with the different levels of peanut cake and wheat bran mixture promoted BW gain, dressing percentage and increased the proportion of edible offals. Similarity between the different levels of supplementation used in this study with regard to BW and carcass characteristics favours the use of the low (T2) or medium (T3) level than the high (T4) level of supplementation.